Buried in Secrets
by MaddieGaines
Summary: [Pending Rewrite] A drastic change happens to Tess' human form. Bridget revisits the place where she was hurt. Allison is hiding the true identity of her baby sister Angela. And the relationship between Tess and Gloria could be going sour when they need each other the most.


**Summary:** A drastic change happens to Tess' human form. Bridget revisits the place where she was hurt. Allison is hiding the true identity of her baby sister Angela. And the relationship between Tess and Gloria could be going sour when they need each other the most.

**Disclaimer:** The angels belong to CBS. I only own the idea, but that's only because no one else wanted it.

**AN**: Reviews, questions, and suggestions would be very appreciated.

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**Prologue**

The yellow cab pulled in front of the house that Bridget Foster hadn't seen since she was married three years ago. The driver offered to get her bags as the twenty-five year old unstrapped her two-year old Natalie from her car seat and placed her on her hip.

An elderly woman by the name of Margaret opened the front door the minute she saw Bridget's form on the front porch.

"I see someone has decided to come home after three years." Margaret gave Bridget a playful smile.

"Hi, grandma!" Bridget gave her a hug.

"And who is this?" Margaret asked referring to the toddler on Bridget's hip.

"This is my daughter, Natalie." She looks at Natalie. "Natalie, say hi to your great-grandmother Margaret."

The shy two-year old gave Margaret a slight wave and buried her face protectively into her mother's shoulder.

"She's just a little shy," Bridget said to Margaret.

"I can see that." She stepped aside to let Bridget and Natalie in the house. "Are you two hungry? I know you had a long flight."

Bridget nodded. Margaret wrapped her arm around Bridget and led them both into the kitchen.

As they entered the kitchen, Monica and Gloria appeared by the doorway, unseen.

"It must be nice to go back to the place where you grew up," Gloria spoke up with cheerfulness evident in her voice. "To reminisce about all the places you used to go and the things you used to do. That must make humans so excited."

"It is exciting when humans go back to place where they grew up, except when the one place they knew as home was filled with nothing, but pain and heartbreak. That's why Bridget spent three years avoiding this house until she had nowhere else to go."

Gloria gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"You see, Bridget has spent most her life running from her problems instead of facing them and it has only led her to come back to the place where it all started."

Gloria nods her head as if she understood the situation clearly. "So, my assignment is to help her face her problems."

Monica shook her head. "This assignment is a little more than just helping someone face their problems." Monica took Gloria's hand in hers and gave it a pat. The two angels continued to watch the scene in silence.

After securing Natalie in the high chair and handing her a bowl of Cheerios, Bridget sat down at the kitchen table with a bowl of Margaret's famous chicken soup.

"So, how's the publishing company?" Margaret asked from the seat across from Bridget's.

"It's great. The company is sending me an assistant to help me look through a couple of manuscripts that were submitted last week."

Margaret chuckles. "You're just like your mother. Bringing work on vacation."

Bridget took hold of Margaret's hand that was resting on the table. Bridget knew that her mother was a hard subject to talk about, especially after what happened to Katie.

"How is she, by the way?"

Margaret sighed. "As good as she can be in her state of mind. She refuses to think about Katie. She still wants to believe…" Her voice trailed off when she felt Bridget squeeze her hand.

"I know. We all do."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes when it was broken by the sound of the front door opening and a bark coming from a dog.

"Grandma!" A young girl's voice called out to Margaret from the living room.

"In here, Allison."

Allison came into the kitchen with a ten-year old girl, named Angela, holding her hand.

"Bridget!" Angela exclaimed with excitement as she went to hug her adult sister that she haven't seen in three years.

Bridget hugged her close. "Hi Angela, it's so good to see you." She looked up at the teenage girl a couple of feet from her. "Hello, Allison."

"Bridget," she said in a tone that was everything, but welcoming. Allison turned her attention to Margaret. "I hope you don't mind, grandma, but I took the liberty of picking up Angela from Kara's house, so I wouldn't have to make two trips out today."

"That was very thoughtful and I do appreciate it."

"Who's that?" Angela asked Bridget, referring to the toddler in the high chair.

"That's your niece, Natalie." Bridget went over to take Natalie out of the high chair.

"How old is she?"

"She's two." Bridget kneeled to Angela's level. "She's also a little shy, but do you want to hold her?"

Angela nodded and Bridget placed Natalie in Angela's arms. Natalie was a little fussy at first, but then she began to feel comfortable in Angela's embrace.

"Hi, Natalie! I'm your Aunt Angela."

Natalie smiled. She was about to say Angela's name, but her lack of talking experience only allowed her to say _Angel_.

Angela giggled. Natalie was so cute.

"I have some Barbie dolls upstairs. Do you want to play with them?"

"Yes, pease."

Angela giggled again. She gave Bridget a pleading look, silently asking her if it was ok to take Natalie upstairs, which Bridget responded with a nod.

After the pair left the room, Bridget stood up and looked at Allison. "So, how have you been, Allison?"

Allison folded her arms. "That depends. Do you mean lately or the past three years?"

"Allison." Margaret said with a warning tone. She narrowed her eyes at her as way of telling her to curve her attitude.

"I'm sorry, Bridget. That was very rude of me. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go upstairs and get started on my homework." With that, Allison left the room.

Monica and Gloria reappeared on the piano as Allison had passed it.

"I know that Bridget is my assignment," Gloria spoke up. "But that Allison girl has really got an attitude on her."

Monica nodded in agreement. "She does, but focusing on Allison's attitude isn't going to help you or Bridget for that matter."

"But there's something I don't understand. Monica, you're saying that Bridget needs an angel, but for what reason? She seems like a loving mother with a good head on her shoulders. She doesn't seem at all bitter. So, why am I here?"

"Because Bridget wants people to believe that she has overcome what has happened to her, but the truth is that she is hiding behind a mask, even from her own self, and it's your job to remove that mask and help her face the truth."

Gloria nodded as the information was sinking in. "But what about Allison? I mean, does she have an angel?"

"Yes, she will." Gloria and Monica looked up at Sam, who just appeared in the room. "God is about to send the perfect angel to handle a girl with an attitude like that."

Monica smiled. "Tess." It was more of a statement than a question.

Sam nodded. "Yes. But Tess is a little frightened at the moment and she is going to be in desperate need of guidance before she can start this assignment."

Both angels looked at him confused.

"What do you mean Tess is going to need guidance?" Monica asked.

"Well, you might want to ask her how old she is the next time you see her." With that, Sam was gone.

Monica shuddered. She knew how Tess felt about questions regarding her age because her answer was usually, "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread." Now that Sam was asking her to ask Tess about her age, she was afraid of what the answer would be.

After a few more minutes of observation and seeing that nothing big was happening, Monica and Gloria decided it was best to head back to the house that the Father provided for them. They were going to need plenty of rest before they can start this assignment.

Upon arrival, Monica and Gloria could hear the sounds of sobbing coming from the backyard. They exchanged worry glances before deciding to follow the sounds.

They found a young girl with silky black hair on her knees and her body shaking with tears. Her eyes were glancing heavenward and she was quietly praying.

The two angels decided to give the girl privacy before trying to help her.

"Father, I've never had a reason for questioning Your motives before, but I want to know why? Why has this happened to me?" She paused for a minute to release a couple of more sobs before she continued. "Father, I know I don't admit this very often, but I'm so afraid. I don't know what to do." With that, she broke down completely.

She flinched when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder, but she was comforted by the sound of the familiar Irish lilt.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

She looked up at Monica. "Oh angel girl!" She wasted no time running into Monica arms and crying into her shoulder as if the world was coming to an end.

Monica was confused at the sudden contact. She didn't understand why a girl she hardly knew was clinging so tightly to her when a thought crossed her mind. The young girl had called Monica _angel girl. _The only person who called Monica that was…

"Tess?!" Monica asked surprisingly. "Is that you?"

Tess nodded as she continued to cry into Monica's shoulder. Monica led Tess into the house and into the living room, Gloria not too far behind them. Monica sat down on the couch and pulled Tess down with her. Monica hugged her close and encouraged her to cry it out.

Monica allowed Tess a few minutes to calm down before posing a question. "Tess, what happened?"

"I don't know," Tess said, her voice a little raspy from tears. "Sam came by earlier and said that a drastic change was going to happen to me and not to be afraid because God was going to be there every step of the way. But I am. I am afraid. I don't know what to do or why this has happened to me."

Tess buried her face deeper into Monica's shoulder as the tears continued to fall.

Monica rubbed Tess' back to soothe her when a thought crossed her mind. "Tess, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how old are you?"

"Sixteen."


End file.
